The Summer She Turned Pink
by soulache
Summary: It was a secret. A soft, pink secret. Rachel/Quinn


_Quinn Fabray, Lima Heights new resident bad girl.  
><em>  
>The words tasted strange in her mouth, the same way "head cheerleader" had taken a whole year to roll successfully off her tongue without feeling like some sort of fraud that had cheated the system. So, things take time. That she knew, especially after this past semester.<p>

It took time to build up a reputation. And it took a little under eight months to tear it down and start again. Quinn pulled on the plastic gloves and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She tried to harden her eyes, but found herself failing miserably. Sighing, she told herself that she could always work on it.

Grabbing the bottle, she began applying the dye to her platinum blond hair. The hair that had, in the past, been somewhat of her signature. Quinn had seen it when she had been picking up a diet Coke at the drug store. She had run her finger along the box where a bright pink haired girl was staring off the box.

"Acid Cotton Candy."

She liked the way it sounded, as if she was in some sort of unbalanced carnival where children went missing and ladies with beards of bees were laughing long into the night. That's exactly what life felt like lately. Everything distorted through fun house mirrors. Stretching out people and her feelings on them – especially herself.

So if you can't be who you are, be someone else. That had always been her motto. So far it had worked for her, of course, then she had been climbing up. And this… she wasn't sure she would call what she was aiming for lowering herself. Maybe it was more moving to the side.

She needed to be something. If only so she wouldn't be the girl who got knocked up and had given away her baby. If she couldn't be head cheerleader, if she couldn't be at the top of her social circle… then she would find a new one. And she would take over.

There was a strange twinge in her stomach as the last of her hair was covered in bright pink paste. It was done with. Over. No turning back now. Not that turning around and running back to her old life, as if that had ever really been an option. She wish it had been because she had loved her life, as shallow as it may have seemed to some people. As sickeningly stereotypical and shallow. But who doesn't adore being adored?

Who doesn't love being loved?

Waiting for the time to come to wash out the dye, she wondered what had become so attractive to her about those hopeless girls. Those angry girls. Those rebellious girls. And perhaps now, it was that she was one of them. She felt hopeless. She felt angry. She felt rebellious.

She wasn't ready to start a fight.

She was ready to start a war.

* * *

><p>The Skanks hated Rachel Berry - something that Quinn would've had in common with them not so long ago. Unfortunately over time, though she didn't like her, it began impossible to hate her. Yes, Rachel was abrasive. Annoying, God knows. But she had the best intentions... even if sometimes she took the long way getting there.<p>

Apparently last year Rachel began lobbying to have The Skanks change their name, saying that perpetuating such a terrible stereotype about women was only bringing their movement backwards. A theory that was lost on The Skanks completely. Higgins didn't do anything, of course. He never did. But the week of hell they caught from him was fresh in their mind.

To be their leader, she had to take down Rachel Berry.

"Listen, we may not be Cheerios, but there's still a social ladder. You wanna be the leader, then you gotta do something Laura couldn't do," said Melissa.

Quinn was careful not to inhale as she smoked. Leaning against the bleachers, she did her best to imitate a slouched, I-couldn't-give-less-of-a-shit-if-I-hadn't-eaten-in-three-weeks posture. It wasn't entirely comfortable to her yet, but she was improving. The defiant angle of her chin became more natural, more aggressive.

"And what couldn't Laura do?" Quinn asked Melissa, knowing Laura would not answer. She didn't speak while she was smoking, and well, she was always smoking.

Melissa and Laura shared a look. It was unspoken and Melissa smiled. Laura nodded slightly, as if encouraging Melissa to continue on - the strange part was how nonplussed Laura seemed. Of course, looking back Quinn understood why.

"You need to take down Rachel Berry," Melissa said. "None of us have really been able to break her. I mean, we torment her, but she just comes back twice as strong."

"What do you have against Berry?" Quinn asked.

"Why? You have a soft spot for her or somethin'?" Tanya chimed in. "They were in that gay Glee Club together, y'know."

"No. Do you not remember her stealing my boyfriend?" Quinn hissed.

Though Quinn no longer had feelings for Finn, at all, it was still a sore subject for her. Being Queen bee, and having something so valuable as your significant other stolen out from under your nose, well it's was just unheard of. And she had more than suffered socially for it – especially considering the girl who took him was one of the most universally hated girls in school.

"Did you a favor," Laura spoke slowly as she tossed her cigarette butt and mashed it into the ground with the toe of her boot. "Finn Hudson... God, I don't even need to expand on that. Finn. Hudson."

Quinn gritted her teeth. She would have to get used to the way The Skanks were going to talk about people she had once considered her friends. She wasn't going to get where she needed to go by being soft.

"So I bring Berry down a peg and I'm the ring leader? Easy as that?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, easy as that," Laura said with a sarcastic laugh.

* * *

><p>"Hey Rachel," Quinn said, cornering the smaller brunette by her locker.<p>

"Hello, Quinn," she said, browsing through her textbooks. "I'm sorry I don't really have time to chat. I need to get to history class. Unless, of course, you're reconsidering coming back to Glee club?"

"You know, Rach – I can call you that, right? We're friends, aren't we?" Quinn asked with a predatory smile.

"Well, I suppose. Yes, we're friends," Rachel said, blinking up at her hesitantly.

"I really want to, I do, but I just... you know, I'm not sure," Quinn said biting her lip, trying her best to look torn.

"Oh, Quinn. We're all family and we'd love to have you back with us. Truly," Rachel said.

Quinn felt a strange pull in her stomach but ignored it. As much as she wanted to actually return to Glee club, that wasn't what this was about. She powered on.

"Maybe you and I can get together and talk about it? I mean, I know we aren't all that close. But you've always called me on my crap and I could use that right now. I'm a little loss."

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but you do seem to be a little..." Rachel huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as she shrugged her shoulders delicately, unable to continue.

"Yeah, and you know, for as much crap as I've given you, I really do admire your talent and drive."

Rachel beamed. There was nothing she loved more than being complimented, which Quinn knew. Though she needed to pull back a little because even someone as narcissistic as Rachel could be would realize something was up.

"I'd love to help you, Quinn. Maybe you'd like to come over to my house after school? I'm sure your new friends... well, I doubt they would like to see us together. But my Dad's are out of town and we could talk and maybe practice a few songs, for if you decide to return. I know everyone would want to hear you sing again if you do."

Quinn was momentarily floored. Was Rachel always this friendly? Quinn knew there was no way she was as bad as she built her up to in her mind, but... she really could've seen being friends with this person. Especially back when she was chunky and unpopular. She shook off the thought. The plan was to destroy her, not to befriend her.

"That sounds great. I'll meet you after last class in the parking lot? All The Skanks were planning to ditch last class anyways so they'll be long gone."

"Oh, I really wish they wouldn't call themselves that," Rachel tutted, sounding much older than she was. "But yes, alright. I will meet you in the parking lot."

"Cool," Quinn said turning to leave.

"And Quinn?" Rachel called.

"Yeah, Rach?"

"I actually quite like your hair. Pink's my favorite colour."


End file.
